The Plan
by everybody-dies-sometime
Summary: "From his prior knowledge, he saw it a perfect fit to the puzzle in obtaining surgery from this man. The only problem in the first place was, how do you get a man who hates you and now holds you responsible for the deaths of two of his people to operate on you?"


Benjamin Linus sit as his desk in the Hydra Station, shuffling through papers and files of several Oceanic 815 passengers, studying every detail. It was his thing, he thought, to know everything about everyone—it was the only department he was superior in to everyone else. Knowledge. Knowledge and control. This was opposed to physical strength and power, which he greatly lacked, especially under the current circumstances. The way Ben saw it, if he could read up on his enemies, or _pawns _in this case, and learn everything there is to know about them, he could win any struggle ever fought and every argument ever discussed, without so much as lifting a finger. His mind was his greatest weapon, and he planned to keep it that way, no matter what. It just-so-happens that his mind hadn't got him anything except cuts and bruises on his face as of late, and it was time for a change.

At this very moment, however, his mind and everything else about him had been caught up in a serious predicament. A tumor located on his spine had stopped any earlier thought process, urging Ben to save the life of himself, rather than guiding that of his fellow people.

But _why_ was this happening? Why was this happening to _him_, on _this island_? It's no secret that the island was a magical place. Properties otherwise known as logic outside of the island itself simply did not apply. He had seen many, many examples of this in his life on the island. Once, at the young age of ten years old, he had observed Horace Goodspeed both fall ill of and heal from pneumonia in less than twenty-four hours. This was nothing out of the ordinary for Ben to see. The island simply wanted it, and consequently, made it happen. The healing part, that was. That is the thing that puzzled him the most about his current situation. The island doesn't curse people with illnesses, it _heals_ them of the sickness they are cursed by. In fact, it was a rarity in it's own right that someone get sick at all on the island in the first place, let alone discover they have a tumor on their spine.

And with that, Ben was left in the dark. He had spoken to Richard little to none in the past five days, and whenever he had questioned the man about the tumor, he simply received the phrase _'Give it some time.' _in response, which was definitely not Doctor's orders in this situation. Ben, obviously not being a man educated in the art of surgery, had little to no clue himself on what he should do for his spine. And that was very odd, too, since Ben was usually a very astute individual in just about any subject. Then again, none of this would matter at all if only The Others' chief doctor and surgeon, Ethan, hadn't been shot to death a while ago. Without him, they had no means of surgery at all, excluding Juliet Burke, the baby doctor, who had little to no knowledge herself. It would be at least two weeks before the submarine would dock back on the island, thus granting the time period to recruit a new spinal surgeon presumably too late for any hope of saving his life at all. It didn't take a genius to figure that out. He needed this surgery now, and he knew it.

But perhaps that is the point? Only two days after Ben had discovered the tumor on his spine, a spinal surgeon had survived an airplane crash located on the very same island in which he lived. Things could hardly be more clear than to say that Jacob himself brought Jack Shephard to the island to operate on him. And with that, he would do anything to fulfill Jacob's wishes. By this point, another surgeon was out of the equation. Jack Shephard was simply the best, and the best is the least Ben would have for himself anyway.

But how would he get him to operate? It just so happens that a plan had already been formed and set into action. Michael Dawson, the father of Walt Lloyd, had previously been tasked with saving Ben from an intentional imprisonment in the Swan Station by the survivors of Oceanic 815. In his time there, Ben had obtained all the knowledge he would ever need to know first hand. That, coupled with the monitoring at the Pearl Station and the individual files for every survivor, had gave The Others', and more specifically Ben, an insider look into the lives, thoughts, and interactions of the passengers of the airplane. Dawson was also given a list of names. Jacob's list. This list only contained two airplane passengers—Kate Austen and James Ford. Typically, Jacob would assign people to be abducted by The Others' and taken in to live with them, for whatever reason. Jacob _was _an odd fellow, and it wouldn't be hard to believe that no one, not even Richard, knew the true meaning of the lists.

Ben, being the sly opportunist he was, chose to change this list slightly. Upon editing, Ben included the spinal surgeon, Jack Shephard, on the list as well. From his prior knowledge, he saw it a perfect fit to the puzzle in obtaining surgery from this man. The only problem in the first place was, _how do you get a man who hates you and now holds you responsible for the deaths of two of his people to operate on you? _ This complicated Ben at first, but was quickly dismissed when observing the survivors. Austen and Ford would be the perfect bait to coax the Doctor into doing the surgery. Hugo Reyes was nothing more than an extra, thrown in to establish the power of The Others' with the remaining survivors at the beach camp.

The Others would capture those four and then use the remaining two to urge Shephard into saving Ben's life. And what better way to do this than to use Michael—someone they trust? Ben would get himself captured by Jack Shephard's group and observe them, from a prisoners perspective, to make one last advancement in knowledge and confirming their necessity in the equation. Just as the cover up plan was falling apart, and before Ben's life had fallen into any real danger, Michael would be sent to save him and, later, lure them right into the clutch of The Others.

Just as Ben began to prop his feet upon his desk and laugh a little bit, thinking of the genius plot he had constructed himself for the first time since it's creation, the sound of loud footsteps began from the end of the hallway. Upon hearing these, Ben gently lowered his feet to the floor and arose from his chair, a grin reaching from one side of his face to the other. Seconds later, Danny Pickett busted through the door, exhausted. He was bent over, gripping his knees and breathing heavily, dripping with sweat and a red color on both his cheeks.

Ben looked at the man, who was seemingly hyperventilating right in front of him, "Yes?" He asked.

Pickett rose from his slouched position, catching one last breath of air, "It's Dawson. He's back. We got 'em all."

Trying his best to contain his excitement and thankfulness, Ben nodded in approval. "Alright. Time to coerce with our prisoners."

And just like that, it was time.


End file.
